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Birth Story
Warning: Some of this is a bit personal and/or what you may consider too much information. I was going to edit it, but I decided to leave it as is for the sake of remembering the details of Judah’s birth. ——————————— I was 41 weeks pregnant and I went for a regular check up at the hospital. My doctor, Dr. V had returned to her home country to deliver her sister’s baby. I had seen another OB twice, but this time I was with a new doctor, Dr. D. I went to get an ultrasound, and I noticed the lady who did the ultrasound wrote “low amniotic fluid” on the…
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A Music Teacher’s Honest Review of Responsive Classroom
It has been a LONG time since I last posted. Please forgive me. I got really excited about launching this blog, so much so that I couldn’t possibly wait until after I finished my master’s degree coursework. Suprise, surprise, I got a bit overwhelmed with homework and had to take some time to focus on that. In case you were worrying, I will be back more regularly after September. With that out of the way, I’d like to give my honest review of Responsive Classroom. I went to a Responsive Classroom 4-day workshop this summer, and I’d like to share my thoughts on that. A bit of background first. I…
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Things I Wish I Brought With Me Overseas to China
Alright guys, this post is mostly written for some friends of ours that are moving to China soon! Three years ago, we moved to China. We sold all of our stuff, including our two cars, and we left! Most of the stuff stored at my parents’ house are musical instruments. I’m a music teacher, can’t give those up! With only 2 large suitcases and a carryon per person, we had to prioritize what to bring. So, after living here 3 years, these are the things I would bring to China if you’re moving there. Also, keep in mind that this is a lady’s perspective (sorry guys!): Hair products. I have…
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The Truth Behind My Teacher Voice
At my college’s education department graduation ceremony, I heard a peculiar speech. I don’t even remember who the speaker was, but one word she said stuck with me even five years later. Intruder. As educators, it is very easy to feel that we are inadequate at our jobs. In the movies we see Robin Williams inspiring all of his students by walking on desks. We see Morgan Freeman drastically improving test scores amongst an entire failing school. We see Hillary Swank work two jobs and destroy her marriage because of the time and money she spends giving everything she has to her students. There’s this secret (or not so secret)…
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Why Thailand Must be on your Bucket List
It was our very first Chinese New Year holiday in China, and we had two weeks to spend anywhere in Asia. Obviously, we wanted to escape the Beijing smog that seems to always hang in the air during the winter. We also wanted to escape the cold, windy Beijing winter. All of our friends seemed to be going to Thailand. We had never had a desire to go to Thailand. All I knew about Thailand was that there were elephants, Thai food, and it was a very Buddhist culture. Nothing really intrigued me about going to Thailand. So we went to the Philippines instead. AND we had a great…
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5 Reasons Why We LOVE China!
When we moved to China, we had no idea what we were in for. We knew pathetically little about China…so little that I often feared I would be on the Chinese version of “Jay-walking”. However, after three years of living here, we have come to love it. I’d like to share with you why! Maybe this will convince you to come check it out. Wechat. Wechat is part of all aspects of life in China. It’s kind of like Whatsapp + Facebook + Apple Pay all in one. In our daily lives, we use WeChat to communicate with our friends in China and overseas with the voice call feature…
Travels, Teaching, Tales of Living Abroad